Improvement in bungs



E.'GUENTHER & F. HOEPPNER. Bungs.

Patented Oct. 30, 1877.

Inventors.-

a fine 7 Wit It eases W UNITED STATES RATE 1' EDUARD GUENTHER ANDFRIEDRICH HOEPPNER, OF NFAY YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUNGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 196,659, dated October30, 1877; application filed August 6, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDUARD GUENTHER and FRIEDRICH HOEPPN'ER, of NewYork city, in the county and State of New York, have in vented a new andImproved Bung for Barrels, of which the following is a specification:

Figure l is a side view, and Fig. 2 a vertical central section, of ourimproved barrelbung. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views of barrel-bringsheretofore used.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

This invention has for its object to produce a wooden bung which isreadily pierced by a vent-plug or faucet, and which, before beingpierced, will absolutely secure the liquids contained within the barreland prevent their escape.

Partly-pierced bungs, such as are illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of thedrawing, have already been in use, the object of the partial piercingbeing to leave a narrow bridge, which can be readily drix'en in by asuitable instrument, thereupon leaving a vent-opening for the ad missionof air to the barrel. But inasmuch as the grain of the wood in nearlyall cases must, to avoid splitting when the vent is inserted or anopening made, extend diagonally to and through the bridge thus formed,as indicated by the direction of the section-lines in Figs. 3 and 4, thebridge almost invariabL' allows the liquid to pass through the bung, orrather through the wood fibers of the bridge; and these buugs aretherefore exceedingly objectionable, unless made of wood of which thegrain extends parallel with the direction of the bridge. Such wood,however, it is difiicult to find, and good bungs are therefore veryexpensive. Moreover, when the grain is transverse to the hung the latteris apt to split when perforated, and the screw-vent can not be insertedwithout making a preliminzn-y opening.

Now, our invention Consists in providing the opposite sides of the bungA with pyramidal cavities a and I), as clearly shown in Fig. 2, therebyleaving a narrow thickness, d, of wood between the two cavities; but,owing to the form of the latter, this intervening wood has noappreciable length, and the grain of the wood, when extendingdiagonally, is consequently not interrupted at this intervening portion(1 of the bung. 'lhe bung is readily pierced by the use of thescrew-vent B or other equivalent instrument, such as indicated in Figs 1and 2, as the lower screw-thread of the vent can always find a b aring,and will quickly bite into the inclined sideof the wood. This can bereadily screwed through the bung to pierce the same, and will, it madehollow, as shown, admit air into the barrel; but the bung may also bereadily pierced by any other ready and known means, without danger ofsplittin It will be seen that by our "HllSil'llPllOll the side of onepyramidal cavity is substantially in line with the opposite side of theother cavity, and at about right angles with that side of the othercavity which is in the same plane of the bung.

By this means the bung is rendered useful for all kinds of wood withoutreference to the direction of the grain.

We claim as our invention- The barrel-bung made with two pyramidalcavities coining to a point, and so locatcd that the side of onepyramidal cavity is substantially in line with theoppositc sidc oi' theother cavity, and at nearly right angles with that side of the othercavity which is in. the same plane of the bung, substantially asspecified.

EDUAltl) (HIENTHER. FltlEDRlUH 110 E PPNER. Witnesses:

ERNEST (J. Winn F. v. BRIESEN.

